List of Organization Information

The following organizations offer information and services focusing on depression awareness education.

The Kristin Brooks Hope Center, program manager of the National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE, has created a unique website that gives you a personal glimpse into depression, and how it affects you and those around you. In addition, you will find a clear, step-by-step path to follow out of the darkness. There is hope and you can feel happy again! If you need to speak with someone right now call 
1-800-SUICIDE (800-784-2433)

Have you recently given birth? Are you feeling exhausted, anxious, depressed, or just not yourself? If you are, you are not alone. Many women are not prepared for the wide range of emotions they may experience after the birth of a child. They often feel sadness, anger, anxiety, or a sense of inadequacy. These feelings may vary in frequency and intensity, but are collectively known as postpartum mood disorders. Help and support is an important part of getting back to feeling like yourself again. The important thing to remember is that the symptoms are temporary and treatable with skilled professional care and social support. Whether you think you are depressed or just want more information, Postpartum Support International (PSI) is here to help. 

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) website provides information from the Federal agency that conducts and supports research on mental illnesses. NIMH also offers a variety of publications to help researcher, mental health and health care practitioners, people with mental disorders, and the general public gain a better understanding of mental disorders and the research programs of the Institute. You can order publications from their website such as What To Do When A Friend Is Depressed, What To Do When An Employees Is Depressed: A Supervisor’s Guide, or If You’re Over 65 And Feeling Depressed. If you have a fax machine with a telephone handset, also check out NIMH FAX4U. Some of NIMH publications and many other information items can be faxed directly to you – in a matter of minutes.

Change Your Mind? There are many reasons why people do not get help for mental health problems. Fear, shame, and embarrassment often prevent individuals and their families from doing anything. Mental health problems are real, and they deserve to be treated. It is not a person's fault if he or she has a mental health problem. No one is to blame. (National Mental Health Awareness Campaign) 

The entire text of "How to Heal Depression" is available to read on the internet for free. Our approach to the treatment of depression is twofold. One is healing the brain, as current medical research points to biochemical imbalances in the brain as the seat of depression. The second is healing the mind--overcoming negative habits of thought and action which may cause, or be caused by, depression.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders. Working on the national, state, and local levels, NAMI provides education about severe brain disorders, supports increased funding for research, and advocates for adequate health insurance, housing, rehabilitation, and jobs for people with serious psychiatric illnesses. 

The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) is the country's oldest and largest nonprofit organization addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. NMHA and it affiliates work to improve the mental health of all Americans, especially the 54 million individuals with mental disorders, through advocacy, education, research and service.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) educates patients, families, professionals and the public concerning the nature of depressive and manic-depressive illnesses as treatable medical diseases; fosters self-help for patients and their families; eliminates discrimination and stigma; improves access to care; and advocates for research toward the elimination of these illnesses.

The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CMHS is charged with leading the national system that delivers mental health services. The goal of this system is to provide the treatment and support services needed by adults with mental disorders and children with serious emotional problems. Almost 50 million adults in the United States are affected by mental illness in any given year, and more than 5 million adults and children are diagnosed each year with a severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression. For additional information, read Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General

The National Foundation For Depressive Illness (NAFDI) was established in 1983 to provide public and professional information about Affective Disorders, the

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